Gluten-Free on Apex

[LaughingAndSplashing]

Has anyone here had experience dining gluten free on the Apex?

[Scottishclover]

We were on the Apex in July and my husband is gluten free after being diagnosed 10 years ago with coeliac disease.

 

Gluten free-corner at breakfast , although he said the muffins were tasteless. The gluten- free bread is not the best.

 

Lunch in OV was easy as everything was marked ( we had also cruised Disney and this wasn’t the case). Gluten free dessert section on lunch buffet looked impressive but you need to like mousses. Not a lot of cake/ sponges which my husband prefers. He did order a gluten free pizza, chef changed aprons and made it separately but didn’t look happy about the extra hassle😂 DH said it tasted good but wouldn’t risk it again as too much as flour in the area for cross-contamination. Ice cream is marked too but you need to be careful as cones are going around.

 

Cafe Al Bacio - coconut macaroons/balls are a must! Occasionally there were other cakes but much to DH’s delight the coconut ones were there daily.

 

There is gluten-free beer. It’s Daura Damm and came from Craft Social, our server went there especially to get it as we were in The Club at the time. Not sure about other venues. DH not a big drinker, occasionally a cider and there’s a few different options on board.

 

Dinner was where the service was fantastic. We had originally booked early dining so we would have the same servers every night. However capacity was so low on our sailing you could go to any of the 4 MDRs at anytime. When you go to the desk there is a red flag against you so they know instantly about your dietary requirements. My daughters are both vegan so we were known pretty quickly!! When we returned to a MDR to eat we were automatically given the servers we had had before, which was great. First night was a bit slow but after that we pre-ordered for the next night ( even if we were going to a different MDR). If there is something you would like on the menu but it isn’t marked as gluten-free, just ask as they will try to make it without gluten. Sometimes it’s a quick fix like no croutons in soup but they were really accommodating.Desserts were either chef’s special or sorbet/ice cream. We could absolutely not have faulted the attention to detail in the MDR but not sure what it will be like on a full ship.

I’m sure there’s a few options at Eden Cafe and Spa Cafe but my husband never ate there. There were no gluten free rolls at Mast Grill for a burger, which was disappointing. We didn’t eat at any speciality restaurants so can’t comment there.

 

We went diy for all our ports ( Best of Scandinavia cruise) and let me tell you there is no problem eating gluten free ( or vegan) in that part of the world. I have always wondered how dietary restrictions are catered for if you are on a ship excursion. 
 

I hope this information helps. People who have no dietary needs have little idea how restrictive it can be. Let’s face it, food should play a big part in your holiday and not be the thing which spoils it.

 

 

[Mimiya11]

Although not celiac, my husband has a wheat allergy so follows a GF diet. 

While they accommodate GF cruisers at dinner, GF bread and dessert options are pretty dismal.  Canyon Bakehouse bread (raisin and brown) is their go, but as the previous poster said forget about  burger buns, crackers for cheese, or great desserts.   Pretty ridiculous considering the wide range of options these days.   I have seen posters say they brought their own GF bagels, crackers, etc with them on their cruise.  

 

Celebrity still has a long way to go in this regard. 

[LaughingAndSplashing]

Scottish Clover and Mimiya11,

 

Thank you! 

 

I agree. Celebrity has a long way to go. Of course, I'm grateful for all they do, but as you said, crackers, buns—these should all be staples. I remember more than one cruise port where I was running around the little shops on the docks trying to find such things. That shouldn't have to happen.

 

I especially wish they had crackers. Crackers, cheese, and wine are lovely in the afternoon.  

 

LOVE those macaroons!

 

I also long for a completely separate gluten-free area in the buffet where the staff serves the food. While I'm not much of a buffet person, it would be nice to have a space where I know that no one has touched the food with a cross-contaminated serving utensil. (Actually, I wish the entire buffet was that way for safety.)

 

This will be my first time on the Apex. In the past, I've always sailed S Class with an MDR and not the MDR divided out into smaller, separate dining areas.

 

When I order for the next day, do they bring all the menus from each "MDR" restaurant? I'd like to know what's available everywhere and choose accordingly. 

 

Room service: If I'm ordering, say, a gluten-free pizza, do I need to let them know the day prior? 

 

Any tips on which gluten-free food was enjoyed the most?
 

Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

[Mimiya11]

Well first of all absolutely bring crackers with you as our lovely cheese plates were pretty dismal without crackers for my husband.   That is our plan on our next cruise.

 

As far as GF Pizza perhaps someone can answer that one, as we never ordered it through room service, he went to the pizza station at the buffet.   Same with MDR as we are going on our first Apex cruise next year.

 

Am sure you will get lots of help on this thread.   

 

 

[bama4cruisin]

27 minutes ago, LaughingAndSplashing said:

 

 

This will be my first time on the Apex. In the past, I've always sailed S Class with an MDR and not the MDR divided out into smaller, separate dining areas.

 

When I order for the next day, do they bring all the menus from each "MDR" restaurant? I'd like to know what's available everywhere and choose accordingly. 

 

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you! 
 

 

This will probably be easier than you realize as all menus are available on the app, so you can actually look and have some ideas before you even go to dinner.  Secondly, there are 3 sections  to the menus, 2 of which are the same in all 4 of the dining rooms.  All 4 have the same “Classics”, which is the always available does not change.  All 4 have the same “Signature “ items, which Is the typical rotational menu that changes each night, but is the same that night in all 4.  The only section which is different in the 4  dining rooms is called “Exclusives”;  there are 3 starters, 3 mains and 1 dessert for watch dining room.  These do not change and will be the same every night of your cruise.  

[Scottishclover]

Agree with the above poster about the app. We used it a lot. We were normally asked where we planned to eat the next night. In truth it only really matters if you want one of the MDR exclusives made gluten free.

[egurbi]

Hi there,

 

Not looking to hijack the thread, but was wondering if folks had experience with gluten, soy, and dairy allergies (all 3) on apex?  We are dealing with all 3, and our experience in the past on other ships is that the dairy allergy is the most difficult one to deal with, as we have never been able to find desserts made without some kind of dairy.  Thanks for any advice.

[bjahil47]

While I have only been on Equinox I also must follow a gluten free diet.  I thought the gf pizza was terrible but I really enjoyed the gf pasta, sauce and meat ball.  In April the gf desserts were terrible especially the cakes.  I am a gf baker of all desserts including my specialty of macarons and I wish I could teach them!  
 

I always bring my own gf crackers and bagels.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

9 hours ago, LaughingAndSplashing said:

I also long for a completely separate gluten-free area in the buffet where the staff serves the food. While I'm not much of a buffet person, it would be nice to have a space where I know that no one has touched the food with a cross-contaminated serving utensil. (Actually, I wish the entire buffet was that way for safety.)

I was completely surprised that Celebrity didn't dedicate one of the pods in the Ocean View Cafe to gluten-free foods. Royal does in the Windjammer, so I figured it would be the same with X since they're under the same corporate umbrella. Granted that doesn't keep people with biscuits and such on their plates from going over there - saw some kids drop a biscuit (like an actual biscuit, not a cookie) on the bacon at the gf pod on Royal one morning then pull it off...but for some that would have been Trouble - I immediately got the attention of the crew member in the pod and told him what happened and he immediately removed the pan and replaced it with a clean one.

 

I also found that some things were labeled gf when they weren't - or more that the labeling wasn't consistent in that some times the allergens listed on the label card were what was in there and others what wasn't but no consistency. So I started just asking if I had questions. (What I do with zero issues on Disney - I get a walk-through with a supervisor in the buffet area, they record what I'd like, and have a clean plate made up in the back. Easy peasy.)

 

I had no issues in the main dining rooms or in Eden when I had dinner there.

 

As for the grill, I opted for a lettuce wrap - saved the calories and the inevitable crumbling to bits before I'm done of gf buns.

[LaughingAndSplashing]

WrittenOnYourHeart: Did you have any concerns about cross-contamination at the Mast Grill? That lettuce wrap sounds good to me!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

26 minutes ago, LaughingAndSplashing said:

WrittenOnYourHeart: Did you have any concerns about cross-contamination at the Mast Grill? That lettuce wrap sounds good to me!

 

I didn't specifically ask - my issue is a wheat allergy that shows up as slight wheezing in my lungs and aggrivation of my reactive airway if I have a cold or allergies (something that completely disappeared when I went gluten-free to avoid wheat), so I don't stress AS much about cross contamination as if I had celiac.

 

But if I remember correctly, when I was on Edge (Feb 2020 just before the world shut down), I just got lettuse from the toppings area and asked for a cheeseburger patty no bun.

[TravelingCircusof5]

On 9/9/2022 at 3:57 AM, Scottishclover said:

We were on the Apex in July and my husband is gluten free after being diagnosed 10 years ago with coeliac disease.

Thanks for the info. We are booked on the Beyond in March. I am celiac as well, as have not cruised since knowing, plus have only cruised DCL. I’m a bit nervous. We are booking Aquaclass bc Blu sounds like a good idea, so if anyone has experience there, I would love to know it. Otherwise, we could book a regular IV for much less $... if MDRs are better. Thanks again

[wineoclock]

Was in Luminae on Apex, got off on Saturday. GF bread was poor. But I didn't preorder food. There was always something I could eat. I prefer not to have crackers or bread with cheese so not an issue for me. I don’t generally eat cakes or desserts anyway. 

[Vickmar]

There are many gluten free options especially in the Oceanview Cafe. 
They’ll be listed under the name of the food item.